Buckthorn originated from Europe and was brought to the United States in the 1800s. It was originally used for hedging, but it was soon found to be an invasive plant. Buckthorn damages your lawn by taking most of the nutrients, water, and sunlight meant for your lawn plants. Once buckthorn grows on your lawn, it forms a strong layer that prevents desirable plants from getting to the things they need in order to survive. Buckthorn is also conducive to the growth of pests such as crown rust fungus and aphids. Because of these reasons, landscapers consider buckthorn to be a threat to a lawn's health.

Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) can be identified as having the following features:

* It looks like a tall shrub and grows up to 25 feet high.
* Its leaves are egg-shaped, pointed at the tip, and are dark green in color. Buckthorn leaves often stay green until late fall.

Glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus), on the other hand, has the following traits:

* It's similar to the common buckthorn in appearance, but it only grows to a maximum height of 18 feet.
* Its oval, dark green leaves have toothless edges. Their leaves also stay green until late fall.
* Unlike common buckthorn, glossy buckthorn has no thorn at the tip of its twigs.

Cutting a cross-section of a stem can also help you identify buckthorn. Both species have orange heartwood and yellow sapwood.

You can pull out buckthorn by hand when the soil is moist. This is best done between June and December, or whenever cold or snowy weather will be present. For larger buckthorn infestations, remove the roots of stumps completely or treat the stumps with a glyphosate herbicide. To prevent buckthorn from sprouting again, burn its branches or have the local garbage hauler dispose of them.